Did shooting stem from state of political discourse?

Did shooting stem from state of political discourse?

Sandhya Somashekhar
Washington Post
January 8, 2011

No information had yet been released about the man implicated in the mass shooting that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) before pundits and activists across the political spectrum identified the culprit: The sad state of political discourse in America.

Liberals were quick to blame the tea party movement and the sometimes-militant rhetoric employed by its standard-bearers. On Twitter, activists repeatedly referred to the remarks of Sharron Angle (R), the unsuccessful Senate candidate in Nevada, who last year advocated "second-amendment remedies" to some of the nation's problems. And they noted the map posted by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R), who depicted crosshairs over the states where she hoped to oust Democratic incumbents.

As details emerged about the alleged gunman and his erratic views, however, the tea party responded.

"If we ever needed an official political obituary to political civility in this country, we've seen it," said Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation. "The facts weren't even out there, Rep. Giffords had been carted away in a stretcher, we didn't even know her condition, but the war had already started. The folks on the hard left were already out there blaming the tea party."

Turns out the politics espoused by the alleged gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, are difficult to pin down. A Jared Loughner lists on his YouTube channel Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto among his favorite books, but his views are difficult to decipher from his videos - and it is not clear if he is the same man implicated in the shooting.

That Giffords was targeted by a tea partier was an easy assumption to make considering her historical clashes with the movement. A moderate Democrat, she had been vilified by some conservatives for her opposition to her state's aggressive crackdown on illegal immigrants and for her support for the health-care overhaul.

When asked by The New York Post on Saturday if his daughter had any enemies, Giffords's father, Spencer Giffords responded, "Yeah...The whole tea party."

Trent Humphries was headed to the local Safeway for some milk when he was stopped by a police barricade. It wasn't until later that he would find out that a congresswoman with whom he had often clashed politically had been shot there, along with more than a dozen others. A neighbor was among the dead.

"We were sickened," recalled Humphries, an organizer with the Tucson Tea Party. "Obviously, we do not condone violence. We've had dozens and dozens of events and we've never had violence. Whoever did this, they're not grounded in political thought. I would be very surprised if it was someone who had ever come to our meetings."

Across Arizona, conservative and tea party activists expressed shock and dismay at the events that unfolded in the grocery store parking lot in Tucson. Though little was known about the alleged shooter Saturday afternoon, questions inevitably arose about his politics.

Some Arizona tea party activists, like Humphries, said it was unfair to connect the politics of a large and mostly peaceful movement to the actions of a single criminal. The day's events led others to question the environment fostered by some of the more confrontational members of their movement.

"You have to be very careful what you say. We live in a very polarized environment here in the United States, and while I do believe in the second amendment, no one should be referring to second amendment solutions," said Patrick Beck, president of the Mohave County Tea Party in the northern part of the state.

"I've given many speeches to my group and at different events in my area, and in doing so I'm very conscious of who's listening," he said. "When I look out at the crowd, 99 percent of the people I see are just like me -- average every day Americans who want constitutional government, fiscal responsibility, things of that nature. Every once in a while, though, I see someone -- how should I put it? -- who is getting too excited, who seems a little farther on the fringe...I realized I had to tone down my comments a little bit, less yelling and screaming and more educational."

When asked about the Palin target map, Beck said: "I don't know. It's really easy in the context of what happened this morning to look back and say, I don't know if this was such a bright idea. At the same time, there are other politicians from the other side of the political spectrum who have said similar military-style sayings. Do I really believe they are intending harm on people? No."

Obviously no political party encourages violence, not the tea party, not the hard left. There is, however, always that small minority of people who will do anything to get their point across, and that goes for all parts of the political spectrum. Those aren't politicians or people who actually are in any kind of connection to the parties themselves, they're just individuals who happen to support that particular party.
To blame the Tea Party is foolish and uncalled for especially since there's no evidence of any sort.
And just think, why would the Tea Party try to assassinate a moderate democrat? If anything, they'd go for Franken or somebody that's farther to the left politically.

BubbleBliss wrote:
Obviously no political party encourages violence, not the tea party, not the hard left. There is, however, always that small minority of people who will do anything to get their point across, and that goes for all parts of the political spectrum. Those aren't politicians or people who actually are in any kind of connection to the parties themselves, they're just individuals who happen to support that particular party.
To blame the Tea Party is foolish and uncalled for especially since there's no evidence of any sort.
And just think, why would the Tea Party try to assassinate a moderate democrat? If anything, they'd go for Franken or somebody that's farther to the left politically.

Exactly on both counts. This woman was a Blue Dog Democrat. Those types are generally supported (to a point) by the right.

From everything I've been reading, this guy was a real space cadet.

Yeah, obviously. Not every shooting has to be politically motivated. When John Lennon got shot, you didn't hear the media saying that the shooter was definitely more of a metal kinda guy and anti-hippy. It might just be another one of those "Satan told me to do it" shooting....

BubbleBliss wrote:
Obviously no political party encourages violence, not the tea party, not the hard left. There is, however, always that small minority of people who will do anything to get their point across, and that goes for all parts of the political spectrum. Those aren't politicians or people who actually are in any kind of connection to the parties themselves, they're just individuals who happen to support that particular party.
To blame the Tea Party is foolish and uncalled for especially since there's no evidence of any sort.
And just think, why would the Tea Party try to assassinate a moderate democrat? If anything, they'd go for Franken or somebody that's farther to the left politically.

We agree yet again Bubbles! I have absolutely nothing to add to your post, you've covered quite nicely there my friend.

BubbleBliss wrote:
Yeah, obviously. Not every shooting has to be politically motivated. When John Lennon got shot, you didn't hear the media saying that the shooter was definitely more of a metal kinda guy and anti-hippy. It might just be another one of those "Satan told me to do it" shooting....

True but I believe this one did have a political line to it. It doesn't mean he's this or that. Let's say he's an unhinged right winger. He could have it in for her stance on ObamaCare. She was hammered by her vote on that (which was 'yes').

Lets say he was an unhinged left winger. If that's the case, he'd be what I call very, very far left and didn't like this woman's centrist policies.

But I don't think it's that simple at all. It's deeper than those scenarios. He's just deranged.

dblboggie wrote:

BubbleBliss wrote:
Obviously no political party encourages violence, not the tea party, not the hard left. There is, however, always that small minority of people who will do anything to get their point across, and that goes for all parts of the political spectrum. Those aren't politicians or people who actually are in any kind of connection to the parties themselves, they're just individuals who happen to support that particular party.
To blame the Tea Party is foolish and uncalled for especially since there's no evidence of any sort.
And just think, why would the Tea Party try to assassinate a moderate democrat? If anything, they'd go for Franken or somebody that's farther to the left politically.

We agree yet again Bubbles! I have absolutely nothing to add to your post, you've covered quite nicely there my friend.

I'm taking a picture of this.

TexasBlue wrote:

dblboggie wrote:

BubbleBliss wrote:
Obviously no political party encourages violence, not the tea party, not the hard left. There is, however, always that small minority of people who will do anything to get their point across, and that goes for all parts of the political spectrum. Those aren't politicians or people who actually are in any kind of connection to the parties themselves, they're just individuals who happen to support that particular party.
To blame the Tea Party is foolish and uncalled for especially since there's no evidence of any sort.
And just think, why would the Tea Party try to assassinate a moderate democrat? If anything, they'd go for Franken or somebody that's farther to the left politically.

We agree yet again Bubbles! I have absolutely nothing to add to your post, you've covered quite nicely there my friend.

I'm taking a picture of this.

Wait... let me comb my hair... my single hair...

I'd like a copy of that picture!

Only time will tell what this guy's motives were.... if he had any, that is.

BubbleBliss wrote:
I'd like a copy of that picture!

Only time will tell what this guy's motives were.... if he had any, that is.

:giggle: You are right. Only time will tell... and given the history of this guy, it's more than likely that he is just another nut-case.

the Tea Party are toning down their words

Tea Party Express raising money in aftermath of Arizona shooting

The letter makes the case that the Tea Party movement has nothing to do with the alleged gunman, 22-year-old Jared Loughner. The weekend shooting sparked accusations from liberal groups and pundits that he was motivated by the rhetoric from Tea Party members, although authorities say Loughner acted alone and was not part of a larger movement.

“We have nothing to do with this awful, tragic event in Arizona,” the letter reads.

The group, which helped fund the Republican primary campaigns of Joe Miller in Alaska, Christine O’Donnell in Delaware and Sharron Angle in Nevada, ended the letter with a request for donations.

“We’re taking our country back through the ballot box and in the public square – through peaceful means ,” the letter reads. “And we will prevail, because our ideas and ideals are stronger than the scare/smear/defame tactics of the leftists we face. We ask you to please stand with the Tea Party Express and show your support for our efforts. You can make a contribution online right now to the Tea Party Express
http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20110110/pl_dailycaller/teapartyexpresssendsoutfundraisingletterinreactiontoaftermathofarizonashooting